Mickey Rooney signed his last will a few weeks before death, leaving a modest estate to a stepson who had been his caretaker but leaving out the rest of his family, his lawyer has revealed.

By the time of his death aged 93 on Sunday after an 80-year Hollywood career the actor's estate had been reduced to $18,000, which he blamed on elder abuse and financial mismanagement by a stepson. HIs lawyer, Michael Augustine, said that despite an agreement for millions to be repaid to the actor it was unlikely the estate could ever collect on the judgment.

Rooney's will was filed in the Los Angeles superior court on Tuesday. It was signed by Rooney on 11 March.

Rooney's will disinherited the actor's eight surviving children, as well as his estranged wife. Jan Rooney will receive her husband's social security benefits and some of his pension earnings but this is a result of a previous agreement. Augustine said Rooney's children were in better financial situations than the actor, so he felt it was appropriate to bequeath Mark Rooney all he had left.

The actor designated Augustine to serve as the executor of his estate, stating that he did not want any relative handling his final affairs.

Rooney died on Sunday after having difficulty breathing during an afternoon nap, Augustine said. The actor had been in good spirits and was looking forward to continuing to appear in movies after filming a scene for the upcoming instalment of the Night at the Museum franchise.

Augustine said Rooney, 93, passed a physical required before he could start filming and his death was due to natural causes, including complications related to diabetes.

Police and coroner's officials were informed of Rooney's death but said no investigation of it was necessary.

The star of the Andy Hardy films and Hollywood's highest paid actor in the late 1930s and early 1940s, Rooney was a product of the industry's old studio system and was not entitled to hefty royalty payments, Augustine said.

Plans were still being made for his burial and a possible tribute, Augustine said. An agreement was reached on Tuesday not to move the actor's body from a mortuary until a court hearing on Friday that may help determine his burial place.

Augustine said that while Rooney owned a burial plot in Westlake Village, north-west of Los Angeles, the actor had said recently he wanted to be buried in Hollywood or a veterans' cemetery.

"We were going to buy plots," Augustine said, but the actor "didn't have any money".

Augustine said the family would like to have a small private service but hoped a larger celebration of Rooney's life and career can be arranged with help from film companies.